The UK’s largest provider of foodbanks has warned that Universal Credit is leaving people without money for weeks on end, damaging their mental health and destroying relationships.

One claimant said they wanted to give up their children to ensure they had food to eat.

In a damning report, the Trussell Trust said the Universal Credit, the Government’s flagship reform to the benefits system, helped explain why foodbank use had shot up.

The charity distributed 64,209 three-day emergency food parcels in the North East between April 1 2017 and March 31 2018.

This was up from 10,510 in the 12 months up to March 31 2013.

The charity provides around two-thirds of food banks across the UK.

Trussell Trust Chief Executive Emma Revie said: “We need to move towards a UK where no one needs a foodbank’s help, not a country where charity provision is the only defence from utter destitution.”

The North East continues to have some of the highest levels of poverty in the country (Image: David Jones/PA Wire)

Charity staff asked foodbank users how they had been affected by Universal Credit. Seven out of 10 said they had got into debt because Universal Credit is designed to make claimants wait six weeks for the first payment, in an attempt to mimic the way people are paid at work.

One person stated that the wait for money “messed me and my family up so much, wanted to give kids up so they got food, couldn’t cope with anxiety and stress”.

Another person reported being sanctioned, meaning their payments were stopped, because they attended their grandmother’s funeral.

They said: “At foodbank today because we have no money for meals for rest of week. Sanctioned for 3 months for not attending on a particular day, even though I had called on the day before to provide evidence on that day I’d be attending grandmother’s funeral - was told that wasn’t a good enough reason.”

One person said they couldn’t cook food because they could not afford energy bills. They reported “falling into debt with gas and electric also not being able to cook my food as I have to pay by card and key meter.”

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Another reported stomach pain caused by hunger. They said: “I have fallen into debt, juggling a lot and having my three children, my anxiety and depression have returned, well never really went away, but feel like it’s gotten a lot worse.

Respondents linked applying for Universal Credit and falling into debt with depression and anxiety. One person said: “Since being on UC, fallen into debt, become very depressed, mental health has suffered.”

Boxes of food on shelving ready to be picked for distribution

Ms Revie said: “At a first glance, there is significant variety in people’s explanations of what led to needing a foodbank following a problem with Universal Credit: some people are claiming the new benefit after losing a job, whilst others have moved home to be near family or have recently dealt with a relationship breakdown.

“But these different reasons disguise a striking similarity across everyone’s journeys from starting an application to Universal Credit and arriving at a foodbank: there was nowhere else to turn, and Universal Credit let them down.”

The Government last year announced that claimants would be offered loans to help them cope with the wait for their first payment.

But the Trussell Trust survey found that this created problems because the loans had to be repaid when Universal Credit payments started, which meant people did not have enough to live on.

In some cases, people who worked on a temporary basis or on zero-hours contracts found that they were forced to re-apply for Universal Credit.

Demand for foodbanks is soaring in region

Mistakes were made and payments were sometimes too low or too high, with future payments cut to compensate. This made financial planning impossible.

And in some cases, Universal Credit payments were just not enough to live on even when the system worked successfully.

The report said: “Most respondents could not afford to live on their full award, so benefit levels must keep pace with the cost of living and uprated in line with inflation.”

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The researchers found 57% had experienced issues with their mental or physical health and 56% experienced housing issues.

Poor administration was a persistent concern, with 35% of users saying they were actually forced to wait longer than 6 weeks for their first payment. A third had experienced poor communication, and 30% found that mistakes were made with their payments and they weren’t given all the money they were owed.